By Michael Hartley
This web page provides a spreadsheet allowing you to create arithmetic worksheets. Using the spreadsheet, you have the flexibility to
- Make either addition/subtraction worksheets or times tables worksheets
- Choose how high the numbers in the sums will go
- Make as many different worksheets as you like
- Print out the answers as well as the questions
- Use either Microsoft Excel or OpenOffice to do all this
Below, there's a video explaining exactly how to use the spreadsheet. First, though, you might want to download it. I've provided it in two formats - first as a Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet - Microsoft Excel is the most common spreadsheet program around. I've also provided it as an OpenOffice.org Spreadsheet. OpenOffice is a free office suite that you can use instead of Microsoft Office. Find out more here.
Using the spreadsheet is simple enough. There are only three sheets you need to worry about. The Config sheet allows you to change the difficulty level and the type of arithmetic worksheet. You can also edit the cell labeled Seed to produce different worksheets. If you open the Questions sheet, you'll see the questions, and you can print them. The answers are in the Answers sheet. You can ignore the other sheets (Sheet 1, Sheet 2, etc). The formulae for generating the random questions are there, and should not be changed.
If you have any trouble, watch this video that explains how to use the spreadsheet to generate worksheets. As I say in the video, I designed this worksheet as a tool for helping kids strengthen their mental arithmetic skills.
Hope that all helps!